hi there it's asiya are you taking your ielts exam tomorrow
let's discuss what you should do the night before your exam and on the exam day to
perform at your best and pass your exam with flying colors okay let's get started
first of all enough studying ielts is an english language exam and you're not going
to learn english in the last night so let the quiet knowledge settle in your brain
of course when i'm saying that i assume that you've already done some preparation
but if that's not the case and you're just discovering what the exam is about
then you need to learn the main strategies and take one full mock test i'm gonna leave
the links for you in the description box below and now let's continue the next thing to do is
to switch your brain to the english mode your brain adapts to the environment so help it
help it to adapt to an english english-speaking environment watch a movie in english something not
too challenging for example friends and don't worry if you don't understand something just
accept it as it comes your brain is still doing the work next review your exam strategies
think what you're gonna do in each section during your exam for example ielts listening i quickly
read the task and then i start reading all the questions and options i highlight keywords in
ielts reading i carefully read the task without any rush maybe i read it twice i plan my essay
then i start writing and i don't pay any attention to people who start writing earlier than me so
think about all that the night before then you're more likely to follow through on your strategies
when it matters visualize your exam no it's not some weird success attracting technique
it's scientifically proven that visualization leads to increased performance and it's widely
used by sports people for example formula one drivers visualize how they take the tough corner
or basketball players visualize how they ace that crucial free throw and you should visualize
your ielts speaking exam imagine how you're entering the room saying hello to the examiner
sitting down listening to the instructions answering questions one by one feeling
confident feeling in control knowing answer to every question and so on visualization
creates a sense of familiarity like you know the situation and if you visualize your exam enough
then when you enter the exam room you have a feeling like you've been there already you
know everything and that will help to calm your nerves and feel better during your exam
you should also get ready the night before your exam find your passport print the booking
confirmation make sure you've checked the precise address of the test center and you're not thinking
about some other building by mistake check how much time it's going to take you to get there
try to leave all the valuables at home you won't be allowed to take your watch or laptop
into the room so don't carry them to the exam center if you can avoid it
but prepare some pencils if you want to take your own and a good eraser perhaps some
centers allow you to take a pen for ielts writing i definitely prefer writing with a pen rather
than with a pencil because it's more quick but not all centers allow that you should be able to take
a clear bottle of water with you no other drink and no stickers so prepare it if you wish
if you're feeling stressed the night before your exam work out go for a jog go to the gym
stress is adrenaline released into our bloodstream and adrenaline makes all the blood
flow to our muscles and not to our brain so that's not particularly good for an exam
this is our ancient fight-or-flight response basically our ancestors are prepared to either
fight a bear or outrun it and both are not particularly intellectual activities
so for your exam you need to find a way to calm your nerves and if you exercise you help your body
to lower the level of adrenaline to calm down and also to have a good night's sleep before your exam
on the exam day get up early set an alarm or 10 alarms whatever it takes to get you
up in plenty of time have a good breakfast it's a three-hour exam and your brain needs enough fuel
but avoid any energy drinks or caffeinated drinks they will not help you perform better
quite the opposite they make your heart rate go up and together with the stress
it may make you feel dizzy and well and can make it harder to concentrate
don't learn any new stuff in the morning i regularly see comments on my videos from people
saying i'm sitting in the corridor waiting for my ielts exam to start and i'm watching this video
don't do that just watch your morning news in english it will help your brain to adapt to an
english-speaking environment leave home early you know buses tend to break down
at the most inconvenient time and try not to have any large drinks before your exam
it's a three-hour exam without any breaks even longer with all the registration in the beginning
of course you can go out if you really need to but you have to take time from one of your sections
you can't go out during the instructions and an invigilator has to come with you and register
you before you leave the room and after you come back i did it once and it takes a lot of time so
avoid it if you can help it and one more thing very important in ielts speaking before your exam
try to talk in english aloud find some corner on the street no one really cares what you're doing
and talk in english it will warm up your muscles and help you pronounce words more clearly it
will also activate all the connections in your brain you know whenever i'm recording videos
the second video goes much more smoothly than the first one precisely because
i've already warmed up so do that before your exam and one more thing to remember
don't worry about making any mistakes in your exam you don't have to be perfect you
just need to be good enough to pass your exam that's all that matters
good luck i'll keep my fingers crossed for you and thank you for watching me today bye